Hello and welcome to another audition night of American Idol. Tonight finds us in Jacksonville, Florida with both Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell in the same limo discussing the fact that we are in this city. Thousands once again show up for the auditions and we get to see a small clip of the band Journey with a very young Randy Jackson shown playing his guitar. Seems the focus for this night is a huge welcome for Randy most of all. Along the way of this night we will be seeing clips of seeing Ryan getting lost and some of the scenery of this town. Now the judges are settled so we can get started seeing the contestants of the night.
First up is a Justin Guarini look-a-like who does not mind being compared to this past idol. His name is Joshua Ulloa and he is going to sing "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye. However, this energetic young man seems to be doing all the band music and with his antics actually did not seem like he was doing that much singing overall. His voice is just so-so to my ears however the judges with Simon saying he reminded him of Inspector Gadget find him interesting and give him the gold.
Sharon Wilbur is next and brings her dog in to help her make points with the judges. Simon holds the dog "Sasha" while Sharon sings "Superstar" by Karen Carpenter. She does have a nice voice and the judges do like her. Simon and Randy are a yes right away. Paula and Kara do something weird like pretending to kiss each other. Paula goes for the yes with Kara sort of holding back and she does mention that Sharon sounds like Britney Spears. Then of course after this pretend kiss between the girls Kara mentions that she thought Simon might kiss her. Methinks Kara would like to have this opportunity for sure. Regardless after all the above mentioned nonsense, Sharon is going to Hollywood.
Next is Dana Moreno who looks quite flashy in red and screeches some kind of song by Chaka Khan and for sure it is a no from the judges. Simon tells her how to get out the door and Dana says nicely "Well, the hell with you".
A very young 16 year old in the form of Kaneswa Finnie has the delusion mostly from her mom who is waiting in the wings that she can sing. In a very drab voice she croaks out something I did not recognize right away. Simon thinks it got worse as it went along. He wants to know if she is surprised and Kaneswa says "not from you". Mom Paula is brought in and Simon lets her know the audition was terrible. After lots of chatter, it is a no to this young girl.
A beauty queen is next "Miss Florida Latino USA". Julissa Veloz sings "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston and surprise she sounds almost like her. The judges are impressed for sure with the song but the braying this girl has as a laugh is not so impressive. More chatter and Paula leaves thinking her opinion does not matter. More nonsense follows and the judges send Julissa to Hollywood. While I think this girl can sing for some reason I do not care for her personality at all. Oh Well, next?
Darin Darnell is a very happy-go-lucky guy who likes getting to know all the contestants and dancing like crazy around the waiting room. He seems very nice and makes lots of new friends along the way. Sadly one of his new buddies Devin Cates gets cut from the auditions and this upsets Darin quite a lot. When it is his turn he is quite emotional and can barely sing a Boyz II Men song. His voice is not very good and it's a no for him.
Several are shown who did not make it.
Our next girl is so thrilled to meet the judges and she says her friend has wanted to meet Randy for so long so they bring her in and Samantha gets to sit on Randy's lap as her friend tries to sing "Loving You" by Minnie Riperton. Before she begins love is in the air as Paula sits on Simon's lap and Kara has Ryan come in and sit on her lap. Naomi Sykes is a failure at singing although she can hit the high note Minnie does. Needless to say she does not get the golden ticket. One side note here: I have always believed that there is an attraction between Paula and Simon and it was sweet seeing them cuddley again.
After lots of talk regarding the failure of the first day in Jacksonville and seeing more of the crowd plus some of the alligators our next contestant comes in to begin day 2 of the auditions. She has brought her mom and several of her sisters to root her on. Jasmine Murray is the youngest of the group and I thought this was going to be our sob story but luckily they pass over this quickly. She performs "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie and the judges like her. She was okay but I hate that song. It is a four way yes to her going to Hollywood.
A Physics major is next who also loves music. George Ramirez is definitely a strange one who can not sing. Simon wants to know where he sees himself in 11 years time. George thinks he will have a nice house with marble floors which makes Simon roll his eyes. George mentions several things he and his friends do before the judges send him on his way with no ticket.
Anne Marie Boskovich comes in with lots of compliments for Kara as she has seen her sing before. She sings a few bars of a song that Kara had sung. The judges like her personality and thinks she can sing but feel she is not being her own person so they tell her to leave and come back with a new persona and confidence before they make their decision. She says okay and leaves to put on make-up, fluff her hair and is more confident upon her return which happens later in the show.
T.K. Hash has tried out before and Paula remembers him. He sings "Image" by John Lennon and frankly I thought he sounded pretty good and could not for the life of me not understand why he did not make it before. Randy, Kara and Paula think he sounds good and say yes. Simon is overruled with his no and off to Hollywood for this young man.
Michael Perrelli is quite comfortable singing with his guitar. However for this audition he can not play it. He puts his guitar down and is so nervous and upset. I thought he did fairly well singing "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind but Simon is a definite no on this one and does not like the excuses Michael makes about not being comfortable singing. The other judges think he is too nervous also and it is a no.
Anne Marie Boskovich is back and sings another song I detest which is "Bubbly". The judges are very impressed with her rendition and she gets her ticket. I think she is pretty good at singing in spite of her song choice.
That's it for Jacksonville with only 16 tickets being given out. Tomorrow finds us in Salt Lake City. One other difference this week is both New York and San Juan will air on Thursday of this week as a special addition. Yea next week begins the Hollywood rounds. So as the crowd in Jacksonville sings "Walking In Sunshine" we now come to the end of this re-cap.
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Subject: Jacksonville, Florida - 1/27/09 
Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:07 am
